It's been a long time coming, but I've finally finished rebuilding my MountainWorld Productions website, and have the blog up and running there.
All prior posts - many hundreds of them from several years - have been moved over to the new MountainWorld Blog, and I'll be adding new content as often as I can.
So, please swing on by, update your links, let me know what you think of the new MountainWorld website, and stay tuned for more content coming soon!
I'm about to head out the door on my seventh Everest expedition, this time climbing in the historic footsteps of Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld up the West Ridge, retracing their route from the Eddie Bauer sponsored 1963 expedition.
First and foremost, it's my amazing wife's (and Challenge21 co-founder) birthday. Wende will turn 37 tomorrow, and in the 14 years I've known her, she's been a continuing source of inspiration for me.
You see, Wende's all about giving. She gives her all in everything she does, be it being a supportive partner for her climbing husband; an incredible mother to our two children; a dedicated friend, sister, daughter, and colleague to many. And, of course, Wende gives daily through her work with Water For People. She's been there nearly a decade, and helped create incredible change around the world in that time.
But, let's be honest: Wende also likes to get things (as we all do), and she's certainly not opposed to winning - she beats me at 99% of the games we ever play.
Given that, it's particularly apropos that we kick off a special campaign tomorrow: 21 Days of Giving.
Yes, giving...but also winning.
Starting tomorrow, and running for 21 days, we'll have a great set of questions and challenges on the Challenge21 Facebook page. They'll range from spreading the word about Challenge21 to answering a question about the mountains or the work of Water For People to donating funds to Water For People via Challenge21.
And, there'll be the chance to win some great prizes from our partner, First Ascent...things like a BC-200, Hangfire Hoodie, and more.
Elizabeth Hawley, the amazing, tireless, grande dame of all things Himalayan mountaineering, turns 88 today.
A remarkable woman, Hawley has tracked down climbers and documented every significant Himalayan climb for the past fifty years.
From Hillary to Messner, Kukuczka to Pasaban to Viesturs, no one who's climbed in the Nepal Himalaya has avoided an in-depth interview with Liz, and she truly is the sole storehouse of Himalayan history and knowledge.
So, send your best thoughts to Miss Hawley today. She's 88 and still going strong. Here's to many more years of her strong will and contributions to Himalayan climbing.
Check out the trailer below for some great insight into this amazing woman:
In 2001, high on Everest, I scoured through the tattered remains of the 1933 expedition's Camp VI in the Yellow Band. I had discovered it, thanks to a discarded porter's pack frame, in 1999, and was eager to see what treasures lay inside. As it turned out, it was a literal trove.
Within the shredded flaps of the tent, scattered amidst pebbles and down, were piles of canned goods: Heinz Baked Beans, Ovaltine, Nestles, Kendal Mint Cakes, and a beautiful box of Huntley & Palmers Superior Reading Biscuits.
By this time, Brent Okita and I had been out in the weather of Everest for a long time, fixing line to the First Step and looking for artifacts. It was our third day well above 8,000 meters, the weather was deteriorating rapidly...and I was hungry.
So, I ate an artifact. I ate a 68 year old biscuit - well, actually, I ate a couple of them. Honestly, I couldn't resist; afterall, the last person to eat out of this same tin might have been Frank Smythe or Eric Shipton some 68 years before.
My snack concluded, I packed up the 30 pounds or so of artifacts from the camp, and headed down to our high camp.
I never regretted my gastronomic experiment until yesterday when the latest edition of Expedition News arrived in my inbox. In it is an article about the recent sale of one of Sir Ernest Shackleton's biscuits from his 1907-1909 Antarctic Expedition...for nearly $2,000!
So, the bad news? In 2001, I ate perhaps $6,000 worth of historic biscuits.
The good news? Sitting in storage in Tacoma, Washington, are another $12,000 or so of biscuits I brought down, but never consumed.
Auction, anyone?
If you'd like to read more about my adventures with the 1933 Camp VI, read my 2007 blog post Everest gear, circa 1933. Or, watch the video below from the American Mountaineering Museum - scroll to the end for the bit about the biscuits.
Edward Norton - no not my father, although his name is Edward Norton, too, and, also not Teddy Norton of Everest 1924 fame, although he, too, was Edward Norton - the amazing actor and even-more amazing social entrepreneur with his website Crowdrise, has just released a new video, featured on AOL, showcasing the need for water worldwide and Water For People's current "Donate to Drink" campaign.
It's a great video, hitting the point, and making a strong call to action. And, I was honored that most of the images in the video are images I took in Rwanda last month for our Challenge21 expedition to the Rwenzori.
Check out the video, and let me know what you think!
Stop on over at the Challenge21 blog if you're interested in my take on the trip, what really matters to me in climbing, and why this was the first expedition in my 25+ years of climbing to really make me proud.
Reports from this remote region are scarce, and the death toll stands currently at "only" 69, but that number will most likely grow as more information percolates in from villages and outlying areas. Even Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal and 270 kilometers from the quake's epicenter, was hit hard, with many buildings collapsing, including a brick wall at the British Embassy that fell and killed a man and his daughter on a motorcycle.
Reading this of course makes my heart go out to all my friends halfway around the world, living in Nepal, Sikkim, India, and Tibet.
And, it makes me worry about what is to come, and think back to the frightening article by geologist and Himalayan earthquake expert Roger Bilham. It appeared in Himal Magazine back in 1994, when I was living and studying in Nepal, and has never been far from my mind. Read The Next Great Earthquake here.
Nepal, I'm thinking of you, and keeping my fingers crossed.
